Epilogue

Epilogue

Aubrey

I knelt in front of him, naked.

Eyes down, I kept my head bowed, hands resting palms upward on my thighs. Nadu , he called it, and it was one of the five positions he'd taught me. He said there'd be others, that I'd be trained and expected to know them all eventually, but for now it was only five, and in the two weeks I'd been here with him this was the one I'd mastered first and used the most.

The tips of his shoes came into view as he stepped close. Black leather, polished, expensive. I didn't move, tremble, or falter as he stopped in front of me. I was silent, obedient, submissive. A good girl, just like he'd taught me.

"Aubrey."

I didn't look up. "Yes, Master?"

"Attention."

I rose quickly to stand up straight, staring ahead, arms at my side, palms placed against my thighs.

Even though I wasn't looking directly into the eyes of the man in front of me, I could feel his gaze as he took in every inch of my body. He was tall, slightly more than Master, and he reminded me a little of Sonja's father. He was well built and had the same commanding presence as Antonio Delgado, but where Mr. Delgado had a European look about him, this man had an almost All-American, high- school sweetheart vibe about him. Except for his eyes. His eyes reminded me less of Mr. Delgado and more of Master's. But not Master when we were training, or talking, or having sex. No, his eyes reminded me of the way Master's had that day when he'd first taken me. When he'd filmed me. Hurt me. A cruelty that shone with a passion I had to fight from shivering against.

He walked in a circle, inspecting me until he came back to stand in front where he'd started.

"May I?" he asked, raising his hand to cup over the curve of my breast without touching it.

"I'd rather you didn't." It was Master's voice, coming from my side, just out of view. Smooth, calm, collected. "Once I'm gone, by all means…"

The man lowered his hand. "As you wish."

For a moment, the other man continued to stare at me, then he turned to look toward where Master stood out of sight.

"She's exquisite."

"She is." I heard Master step closer but I didn't react, didn't turn to face him, even though I wanted to.

"What's your name, beautiful?" The other man addressed me directly for the first time.

"Aubrey, Sir."

"Hello, Aubrey," he responded with a smile that sent my nerves prickling. "My name's Devlin, but you will address me as Sir for now, and Master, later, when it's appropriate."

"Yes, Sir," I replied softly, eyes fixed straight ahead.

"Do you know why you're here, Aubrey?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Tell me."

"I'm to be trained, Sir."

He tilted his head. "As?"

"An obedient submissive. To serve my Master. To please my owner." I repeated what I'd been taught.

"And are you going to do that, Aubrey?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Why?"

I didn't blink or miss a beat. "Because that's my place. It's what I'm meant for. And…"

"And?" he probed.

"It's what I want," I replied calmly.

His eyes bore into me. "Incredible," he finally said, his tone soft.

"Aubrey." It was Master's voice again, coming from beside me.

"Yes, Master?"

"Tell Master Devlin what we spoke about. What you're looking for in an owner."

Don't hesitate. Do exactly what you and he talked about...

"I want a Daddy, Sir."

Master Devlin stepped close to me, peering directly into eyes. "Oh, really? Is that so…" He glanced over as, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Master come up alongside us. "Well, let me assure you, Aubrey," he continued, looking back at me, "that's exactly what you'll have. I've had several inquiries looking for a slave of that nature, and you're honestly the first woman who'll fit the bill perfectly. Soon you're going to have a surfeit of Daddies, all vying for the chance to purchase you. Once we complete your training, of course."

"Yes, Sir," I murmured.

Now he stepped back, turning his full attention to Master. "I have to say, Derrick, I'm very impressed."

Master came into view, giving me a warm smile. "I can only take a small amount of credit. Aubrey is an extraordinary woman."

"Clearly. I've zero doubt she'll fetch a very large sum at auction, if not the highest paid to date for a slave."

"And she'll be worth every penny three times over," Master replied, never taking his gaze from mine.

For a moment both men stood looking at me, until Master Devlin said, "You seem quite taken with her."

"I am," Master replied.

"Why not keep her for yourself?"

"Because," Master answered, "she deserves the life she's looking for, not settling for what I can offer."

Master Devlin gave a dismissive wave. "She's a slave. She serves. Whatever her future Master provides will be more than sufficient to satisfy her needs. Don't you agree, Aubrey?" He turned to look my direction.

"Yes, Sir."

"See?" he said to Master with an ‘I-told-you-so' gesture.

Now Master broke the gaze he'd held me in, turning to Master Devlin. He took two steps to close the distance between them.

"Devlin, I find our arrangement mutually beneficial, as I'm sure you do, too. But in this matter above all others, please understand this…" As he continued, he slowly pushed his index finger into Master Devlin's chest. "If I ever find out Aubrey wasn't sold to a Master deserving of her, one who treats her in the way she's worthy of being treated, one who cherishes her and provides for her in the manner she wishes to be provided for…"

He took one more step forward, and Master Devlin broke, retreating backward.

"I will make sure you regret the day you presumed to lecture me on what will or won't be sufficient to satisfy her needs," Master finished softly. "Are we clear?"

I held my breath as the two men stared each other down.

Master Devlin broke first. "My, my," he said quietly. "She may say she's looking for a Daddy, but from where I stand, she already has one."

Master didn't reply.

"So," Master Devlin tugged the edges of his sport coat straight before continuing, "when will you bring her to the facility?"

"Tomorrow."

"Very well. Until then…" Now he stepped back in front of me. "Aubrey, it was a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to completing your training and finding you the perfect Daddy to satisfy…" He glanced over at Master. "Your needs."

"Thank you, Sir."

Devlin nodded, then began to leave. Master followed, the sound of them talking quietly trailing in their wake as they strode across the living room., The door opened, then closed, but I didn't move, maintaining my position, waiting patiently. I doubted Master would make me stand there long. This had been a training exercise, of sorts, but I didn't believe Master would leave me here for hours this time, as he'd done once in the past. No, I expected him to return to praise me for how I'd performed or chastise me for my failures, possibly both.

His boot heels rapped a tocktocktock on the granite floor as he approached. Coming to a stop in front of me, he gazed into my eyes impassively.

"Humble," he ordered.

I immediately dropped down, face to the floor, ass up, hands palm down and crossed.

I listened as he moved to the couch and sat down.

"Ready to please," he called out, and I came up into the proper crouched position, leaning forward, ready. Obedient. Submissive.

Perfection.

I could hear his voice saying the word in my head, because that was what he'd kept calling me over the past week. Once he was gone, I think that was what I was going to miss most of all.

"The number, Aubrey, if you please."

I repeated the nine-digit phone number back to him he'd made me memorize.

"And when will you use it?"

"If I ever feel I'm being mistreated, Master."

"Your training will be hard at times. Difficult. Painful, even. But then, you've already experienced that, haven't you?"

"Yes, Master."

"And you've thrived."

"Yes, Master."

"And your reward…"

"Will be more than I can imagine," I finished, just as he'd told me so many times.

He leaned forward. "Yes. More than you can imagine. But remember—if you ever, ever find yourself in any… difficulty, you have funds in the account I created that will tide you over until things can be sorted out."

I nodded. The bank account was one he'd established in my name. When he'd showed it to me, and I'd read the dollar figure deposited within, it had been the first time since arriving here I'd broken down. Not out of fear, or the threat of pain, or even the knowledge of him leaving me soon. I'd begun crying because never in my life had I experienced a gesture of concern for my well-being as profound as that.

Something a Daddy would do.

"And I need you to remember this most of all, Aubrey: if you ever feel your situation has become volatile, and you feel unsafe or vulnerable, you know what to do, don't you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good girl."

I gazed at him, watching his eyes, waiting for what I knew would come.

He spread his legs open casually. "Do you know what I want now?"

"Yes, Master," I answered, drawing in my lower lip between my teeth.

"Then show me."

And I did, without another word.

Words.

So much of the past two weeks had been about words. Sir. Master. Yes. Please. There'd been others, too. Different words, meant to teach and remind me what my future owner would expect me to believe was my place.

Slave. Slut. Fucktoy.

Whore.

Which was actually kinda funny, because I both was and wasn't any of those things. I'd told Sonja a lifetime ago, I liked sex. And the past two weeks I'd been shown—and had showed—that I did. All those words hadn't changed that. They were just window dressing used for the actual physical act. A form of verbal foreplay. What mattered most in those moments when I became not the Aubrey I'd always seen myself as, but the Aubrey that had been kept hidden away, was the fact that everything being done was because I consented to it. Wanted it. Enjoyed it, even. And those times when he took and did not give in return—which wasn't often, because of who he was—it honestly didn't matter. I found pleasure in the act alone. Of giving pleasure. Of ultimately knowing I had control in a situation where a man believed he was the one who did, even when I knew the truth.

He didn't.

Our second night here he'd told me his name. Another word he'd given me. I'd never used it, though. To me, he was never going to be that man. He'd always be Sir. Master. And another name, though I'd never said it out loud.

Daddy.

We'd talked, and I knew full well now why he couldn't keep me. It made sense. In fact, given what he'd explained, I wouldn't want it. He was right in what he'd told Master Devlin; I deserved so much more. Still, there'd always be a part of me that would think of him that way. Because he'd been the first person to open me up to what I'd kept hidden deep down, far beyond the teasing Sonja had given. As he'd put it several times, the true beauty of my nature.

Something to be cherished.

So… yeah, words. Some important, some for show, some for pleasure, and some just… words. Parts of this world I was stepping into were still so foreign to me, but at the same time, so much more intriguing and exciting than anything I could ever have imagined in my old life. And if I had to call some man Master, have him call me whore or slut or sex slave in return, dear God was that an inconsequential price to pay. Because he was right; I was strong. I was sexy. I was smart. I was worthy.

I was incredible.

And most important of all: I was the one who applied those values to myself. Others may think it or even say it, but in the end, my thoughts and what I believed were what counted the most.

Should circumstances ever put me with someone who didn't recognize my worth, who, for whatever reason, truly, deep down, considered me as lesser than I really was… well, too bad, so sad. Their loss. I had that phone number and bank account, and if any man I chose to call Master decided to take me for granted, if they put me in a position where I really felt I needed to, I knew I could call it, and Daddy—my first, real, true Daddy—would make the problem… go away.

I really didn't think it was ever going to come to that, though. Because nice as it was to think about, I knew the truth.

I could take care of myself just fine.

THE END